01) Hawks & Crows

I like Crows. They remind me of clowns, very entertaining to watch. They are also remarkably intelligent animals, reportedly on par with apes, able to make and use tools, for example. They can even recognize individual human facial features, especially those they consider dangerous.

Throughout history, Crows have been feared and disliked by humans who associate them with death and tragedy. They have been blamed for killing weak animals such as lambs and other Crows. For this reason, a group of Crows is called a "murder". Seems to me that, with Halloween right around the corner, now is a good time to share my Crow story.

For many years I have observed a murder of Crows cavorting about at Tandy Hills. Although they make occasional forays into the neighborhood, where they annoy Olive the Prairie Dog with noisy cawing, most of their time is spent deeper into the park, socializing, foraging and making baby Crows. They seem to prefer their privacy.

Occasionally, I have surprised large groups of them, seemingly having a party in a dead tree high on a hill in a semi-remote section of the park. They are quite sociable among themselves, gathering in large numbers apparently as protection from hawks and owls, of which Tandy Hills has a few.

On a splendid evening hike in late September, just as Debora and I topped the hill near the dead tree, I could hear and then see such a murder of crows squawking with unusual fervor. Some of the birds flew off when they spotted us but several stayed put as if guarding the tree.

Looking closer it became clear that one of the birds was not a Crow but a mature, male Cooper's Hawk, another of my favorite birds.

Walking slowly and quietly towards the tree with my camera in hand, I eventually got too close for the Crows' comfort who scattered. The Cooper's remained, turning his head 180° with one of unblinking eye on me, the other trained on the Crows, flapping and cawing clown-like into the darkening canyon.

Eventually, the hawk lifted off with one elegant wing beat sailing silently into the same canyon. Back at home, I learned the phenomenon we observed is called mobbing, "...an anti-predator behavior which occurs when individuals of one species mob a predator by collectively attacking or harassing it, usually to protect offspring." (Wikipedia)

A birding friend suggested that Crows mob hawks for the sheer fun of it. I like that explanation. Who knows, maybe the Hawk plays along in the same spirit. Whatever, the mob of Crows showed no obvious fear in the presence of the elegantly plumaged, cold-eyed hit-man. It's all true.

02) Field Notebook

September was on the dry side curtailing much of the Fall color. Still, with amazing resilience, many of the prairie plants soldiered on with the help of scattered seeps and a touch of rain. See a few examples below.

Telltale signs of a hungry Nine-banded Armadillo are all over the park, sometimes with large rocks unearthed from the prairie soil. I have yet to see the critter but regular hiker, Bill Yates, snapped the pic below. REMINDER: Hunting or harming wildlife at Tandy Hills is illegal.

Finally, in early September we were paid a rare visit by a Baltimore Oriole at our home across from Tandy Hills. He was dressed for the season in brilliant orange and black. Stunning!

Giant Blue Sage is a reliable Fall bloomer at Tandy Hills.

Longleaf Wild Buckwheat (Eriogonum longifolium)

Stiff Goldenrod brightens up the evening shadows.

Tiny, Heliotrope blooms resemble stars in the prairie grass.

Prairie Agalinis (Agalinis heterophylla) buds glow in the shadows.

In this field of thousands of Eryngo plants...

I found this single, albino-ish flower.

Indian Grass and Little Bluestem grass define the Autumn prairie at Tandy Hills.

Fine-leaf Gerardia (Agalinis densiflora)

Nine-banded Armadillo at Tandy Hills. Photo by Bill Yates. Used with permission.

Baltimore Oriole near Tandy Hills.

03) Giving Day Report

After a 33-day fundraising campaign, North Texas Giving Day is history. Friends of Tandy Hills did well. We received 51 donations totaling, $3,605. Communities Foundation of Texas who sponsored the event will add an additional $300.+ to our coffers. PLUS...we have a chance at the coveted $5,000 prize for Best Overall Campaign.

04) Bee Pasture Revisited

Back in August I introduced you to recent transplant, Anne Stine, and her blog The Bee Pasture. In late September, Anne revisited Tandy Hills and composed another informative and entertaining blog post. Check it out here:

05) Vote for Tandy Hills

Tandy Hills Natural Area has been nominated for Best Place to Get Outdoors by Dallas-Fort Worth Child Magazine. It's part of their 2014 Best for Families promo. Please take this quick survey and vote for Tandy Hills!

06) Prairie Fest #10 Takes Flight

A new planning committee has been formed to bring the prairie to the people and the people to the prairie next April 25th. The first meeting was held at the Tandy House on September 21. Led by Jen Schultes and James Zametz, it was the largest group of volunteers ever at the initial meeting. And quite a brain-trust of busy people it is. We need YOU, too! Volunteer today.

"Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit, and as vital to our lives as water and good bread. A civilization which destroys what little remains of the wild, the spare, the original, is cutting itself off from its origins and betraying the principle of civilization itself."